Thursday, May 19, 2011

Driving Around Westchester, Using My Cell Phone

Recently, the Town Supervisor stated at a Board meeting and posted the following, “Frequently, when I am driving around Westchester County and using my cell phone, my phone doesn't work.  There are many areas around the county that are not covered by cell phone service. I think I'm in a third world country - my phone dies on me during the middle of telephone conversations.”

His admission of guilt as it relates to using a cell phone while driving, is indicative of the poor leadership he’s exhibited for years.  ABG is hoping our new Police Chief, Joseph DeCarlo, will have a chat with the supervisor about following the traffic laws for cell phone usage while on the roads. Otherwise, we hope he gets pulled over by a police officer from a non-Greenburgh area and ticketed. Why non-Greenburgh? He won’t be able to intimidate his way out of a ticket with job loss threats to our officers.

He made another ridiculous statement, and again we quote, “In the event of a terrorist attack or emergency evacuation, cell phone coverage could be important for families and law enforcement officials.  Cell service provides a link to family members and to public safety officials.” Perhaps. ABG spoke to numerous first responders, both career and volunteer and asked how many calls they make during their average emergency and how many they made on September 11, 2001. They said they rarely if ever make cell calls when at a call – they’re usually pretty busy. On 9-11, many that were on duty called home to ensure the safety of their loved ones, but if they didn’t get them on the line, they continued doing what needed to be done. One responder we spoke with said he couldn’t get phone service anyway as the cell towers were down. Another said he was able to use his direct-connect feature to raise his wife. Once he was sure they were safe, he made no more calls.

Once again, this seems to be one of those manufactured issues that our Supervisor is so good creating. It’s something he doesn’t control, has no say in, and yet the media will entertain his blather on this in article after article. Would cell coverage in an emergency be a good thing? Probably. But it’s also why the localities’ Police, Fire, EMS and various highway and road crews have radios with specific frequencies.

Our final quote, as unbelievable as this seems, is this, “I think that Westchester County should conduct an annual inventory of areas around the county that do not have cell service (by carrier) and that the county should publicize the areas that lack coverage.  This should be coordinated with the local police force and be incorporated into emergency preparation plans.” ABG’s guess is Feiner endorses this as the County has so much extra personnel, time and money to waste on frivolous Feiner fishing expeditions. Yes, we’re being facetious. We also know that our police department has better things to do than worry about cell phone coverage. Feiner can never seem to focus on real issues affecting Greenburgh taxpayers.

It’s time for The Paul to go. He’s stopped doing what’s good for the residents quite some time ago. He's committed and focused on fast tracking projects for developers and keeps fostering absurd ideas such as this. We look forward to a change this November.

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